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A company which does not have a logo is like a body with no face. You may ask yourself, ‘what is the big deal with a logo?’ Ironically, the logo is a simple form that helps identify the company or the product.

The logo is not just a form or shape or a design. Actually, the logo aims is to effectively represent the company visually; with no explanation. The logo itself will reflect the characteristics of the company. It is the face of the company or product that is most seen by people; not the director nor the managers and the workers of the company. The logo plays an important and strategic role at the heart of companies and this is why as a designer, I find it as a real honour each time I am engaged to develop the identity of a new company, of a new product, or of a band.

It is fascinating to see how the concept of having a logo, is far from being an innovation of the 20th century. In fact, the logo has been present in various ways; i.e. mark, flag, symbol, signature and icon, since hundreds of years Before Christ. Symbols and signs were present in ancient Greek, Egypt and Italy. ‘Logo’ has also made its way through cultures and religions around the world; in the jungles of Africa, like in the Amazonian forest, in the temples of India, like in the desert of the Middle East. All the religions in the world; Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, Judaism, Islam, Christianity and others, have all get their own particular symbol that help us to easily identify them. Nowadays, what is becoming more and more popular are the logo of sports brands and the signs of bands; such as P.O.D, devil hunter and others.

Famous brands like Nike and Adidas has intelligently made use of logo in their branding campaigns throughout the last decades. The swoosh logo of Nike was designed in 1971 by Carolyn Davidson. Her conceptual thinking was to illustrate the wings of the Greek goddess Nike. The swoosh logo has turned on to become a worldwide success that expresses the quintessence of the brand. While the Three-Stripe logo of Adidas symbolizes performance.

One of the secret behind those successful brands is that they have a logo, with a strong concept that has become their face.

Who said that Robin Hood and his gang were dead!? “Once again, here’s false rumour going around.” According to a letter sent to me by my old friend Sharlock Holmas, everybody in Great Briton fought that Robin Hood and his gang were attacked by lions in the hood, reality is that they have landed in the little island of Mauritius, terrorizing the innocent people like wild lions. Have they come by that big ship from the north-east side, thinking that they would find golden powder!!?? Probably not! But one thing we must all know and feel concern about is that Robin Hood and his gangs have become worst; attacking both the rich and the poor for the sake of themselves. If it happens that you get the millions from the ‘lotto’, only one advice I got for you; either you take it but stay anonymous, continuing to live your normal daily life for a while, so that no one and not even families get to know about your riches, or you simple ignore the win. You may thing that I am joking, but no, am serious and this is a serious issue, as Robin Hood or his gangs could be around, turning your joy of being the new rich guy around into the real nightmare of being a beggar. This week only some of the gangs appeared in a region north of city of Port Louis, their victim was a poor man who happened to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time. The little Parrot told me that they were two, attacking that poor man to take his only wealth of about 10 Pound Sterling. Meanwhile others were also busy another man in his home in the region of Grand bay, they were no doubt looking for a treasure chest, where they took away this time not 10 but 7500 Pound Sterling. Is the paradise of we the humble becoming their oasis??

It will be interesting for some but important for others to know more about design, branding, logo and identity.

Nowadays, the design world is so saturated that it is really difficult for people to really know about whom to hire to make the identity of their company! What to consider! Do I really need to pay millions to well-known agencies to be sure am getting somethinh good! And if I do not have that million to pay, will I be left as a ‘timiyon’ (little fish) or are there professional freelancers whom I can hire! How to know that they are giving me the genuine work! In a world where everything is in a rush, where technology is speeding, having some knowledge of logo, identity and branding is a real advantage. So often, people say that it’s not a topic of their interest. What these latter do not realize is that if tomorrow they want to open a shop, if they want to launch a product; like potato chips or peanuts, if the shop or the product is not visually pleasant and appealing to the target audience, it’s condemn to failure. For some the reactions will surely be, “hey but that’s why I pay a designer!” My answer to those is that they are right. Designers have studied and are paid for that, but it will be for one’s own benefit to understand, to be able to make a judgment of how effective the design is, based on knowledge without mixing feelings and emotions or to just blindly go forward.

The video is an advert made by Macintosh to demonstrate in 1984, to demonstrate its sence of innovation and revolution to empower each an every one. In parallel to the lady in the video, here the aim is to enlighten you as an individual, as an entrepreneur, or as a student, to have the knowledge and to understand what are involved and what is meant by an effective logo and identity. Mr.Steve Jobs once said that design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.

Annotation of the video:

This is the first and only advertisement that Apple launched in 1984 for the Macintosh. It appeared in the third quarter of the 1984 Super bowl. It is known for having marked the world of advertising.

My first date with Miss.Design was an unexpected screen meeting which happened about 13 years ago. I was only an eleven years old school boy who before this moment never knew and never really thought of what he would ever do in life, what would bring him passion and satisfaction. Despite I never really knew about Miss.Design before that first date, I always had some interest in fashion as my mum had a Prêt-a-Porter.

I would often watch fashion shows on T.V. And one week, sitting down to watch the fashion show, I was surprised to see that there was a reportage that was being broadcast instead. The surprise did not stop there. In fact, I had no idea that the reportage would have had such an effect on my whole life.

The reportage was focus on a German designer whom I never heard of before, but who was well-known in both Germany and New York. He was not like one of those celebrity fashion couturiers; he was more down to earth, a simple man whom everybody in the shops in New York would say hello. He was a modern man designer who was engaged in both fashion and products design. That was the first time that I was discovering such a complete designer. I was really amazed to see how he traveled from EU to USA, from states to states. But above all, what had deeply marked me as a young boy was when he said “to be a giant, one must first get over the shoulders of giants”. From that point, if I wanted to be like this man, I would have to get over the shoulders of many giants for many years. Since then, I started doing research, collecting the creations, the designs of many, taking piece from here and there to make something new. I later choose Art and Design at Higher School level, and to make the dream of my first rendez-vous come true, I went to study it at the university.

Born under a tropical sun, enjoying a fresh coconut water under the big palm tree, while listening to the natural sound system of the sea and its waves crashing, am Jeremy, living on what is known to be the little paradise on planet earth, Mauritius Island. Graphic design is my main hobby and it happens to be my job too. I develop concepts and create designs of in various forms; from logo & identity, book and magazine cover, cd packs, packaging, fashion and others.

While doing a BA in Graphic Design at the Charles Telfair Institute, I seize the opportunity to look for working experience. I enjoy two years working as the merchandiser for the brands Quiksilver and Roxy, working on every steps of the production process. Afterwards, I went on to discover new horizon, spending an amazing experience of seven months at Amadeus branding and advertising agency; both as a designer and copywriter, learning a lot from the CEO, Mr. Nanda Pavaday, an award winning copywriter and creative director. I still enjoy new experiences, working in the field of publishing with companies such lexpressproperty.com and others.

I am writing right here as I am actually doing my last unit in Web publishing with a new teacher and new friends who are all wonderful people